Major rift emerges in Church over abuse deal

A MAJOR rift has emerged in the Catholic Church over the handling of the child abuse scandal after 18 religious orders rejected urgings from the country’s two most senior clerics to reconsider their stance on the indemnity deal.

Both Cardinal Seán Brady and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, head of the country’s largest diocese, called for the congregations to rethink their contribution towards compensating abuse victims which was capped at €128 million – about one-tenth of the overall estimated cost – in a controversial deal agreed with the Government in 2002.

But the 18 congregations that were party to the deal, some of which have yet to fully honour its terms, said last night they would not renegotiate it, offering instead only a vague assurance to “find the best and most appropriate ways of directly assisting [abuse survivors]”.